Forgiven Past
by Mew-chi
Summary: One star-filled night, the Kenshin-gumi gains a new member, Chiko Yamasaka. They look at her as any other person. Little do they know that Chiko holds many secrets, and they include secrets of Kenshin's revolution. Read and review!
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE  
  
*********  
  
IBlood.  
  
Blood everywhere.  
  
All she could see was blood. She couldn't escape. She trembled as she watched her people getting killed. She was only with her parents, her only family, and she was scared. Sight of bloodshed made her crazy. But something much more horrible would practically destroy her soul.  
  
Her father, mother, and a few of her people were left. They were facing one man. Fate lay between them. She watched in horror as her remaining people charged at the man, then fell down as they passed him. They were all dead. Her parents were left. She couldn't bear to see them die./I  
  
"Mommy! Daddy! Please, don't go!!"  
  
IThey turned back, a regretful thing to do./I  
  
"Don't worry. Go, run away. We'll be back. Go."  
  
IShe immediately got up and ran, daring to look back. She almost fell at the sight she saw. Her parents had died. Just that one instant she turned, they died. Despite the horror, she ran faster, getting away from the manslayer. But just as fast as she ran, the man caught up and faced her, and she fell to her knees. She trembled in fear as the man lifted his sword./I  
  
"NO!! I want to see them!! I want to see them one more time. Please!!"  
  
IAt her last words, the man shifted just when he was bringing down his sword. He missed her by inches, and instead of going straight through, he scraped her from the cheek down. She screamed and slowly fell down. Blood dribbled down her left cheek.  
  
The man knew she wasn't dead. His eyes faintly softened at the sight. Before he turned, he noticed the marks of his slash. Scars. He left his mark on the girl. These marks were ones he wouldn't forget./I  
  
*************  
  
Short, I know. It's a prologue, what did u ppl expect? I personally think I did a pretty good job on this. I hope u ppl think the same way. Please review! Just click that very beautiful, little blue button down there that says 'Go' and leave ur message! The first chapter has some friends of mine! We have a few funny things to say!  
  
Mew-chi 


	2. Unexpected Arrival

Disclaimer: Me don't own anything of Rurouni Kenshin. Me only own Chiko, Kajiura, Kisuko, and Asuko. Me so tired, I have to repeat this every time.  
  
Me: Hello, everyone! Here me first chapter of me RK ficcy!  
  
Kouyuu: They can see that, Mew-chi. It's says that right under this.  
  
Crystal: You shouldn't have done that.  
  
Kouyuu: Why?  
  
Me: YOU BAKA! I DO WHAT I WANT!!!!  
  
Kouyuu: NANI?!? What did do?!  
  
Crystal: Oh god.here we go again. To be continued in second chapter.  
  
Kouyuu: Like there'll be a second chapter!! Mew-chi's gone crazy!!  
  
Crystal: I warned you.  
  
Kouyuu: Crystal!!  
  
~~~  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL  
  
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"Kenshin!" Where are you, Kenshin!"  
  
Kaoru started to get really annoyed, but scared. But who wouldn't be when you're standing outside, in the freezing air, looking for someone whose off somewhere, without even telling the house owner, who is scared half to death? She started to go back inside the cozy dojo, when she saw a shadow, faint, but she could see a outline. She smiled. It was Kenshin.  
  
***  
  
"Ow, ow, ow! Gomen, gomen, gomen!"  
  
It was early morning, but almost everyone was awake, except for Yahiko, who was still snoring in his room. It wasn't a birthday, but someone got a hell of a gift. Kaoru was still steaming about last night, and was paying Kenshin back.  
  
"Oro oooo?"  
  
Kenshin was sitting on the outside porch, swaying back and forth, while Kaoru stood behind him, holding her bamboo sword.  
  
"Well, I hope that'll teach you a lesson for sneaking out at night. How dare you!"  
  
She continued whacking Kenshin on the head with her sword. She said a word for every whack on the head.  
  
"Don't (whack) you (whack) ever (whack) do (whack) that-'' She was about to whack Kenshin a fifth time, when a strong hand grabbed her wrist to prevent her from whacking Kenshin further, who was nearly unconscious on the floor.  
  
"Stop it right there, Kao-chan. You shouldn't go whacking people like that for no reason, especially people like Kenshin. Why are you whacking Kenshin anyway?"  
  
Kaoru broke free of Sano's grip. She looked ready to hit Ihim/I on the head, but she stopped in time to see that she had nearly killed Kenshin. She gasped and went to his side.  
  
"Oh my god, Kenshin! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Please tell me your okay?"  
  
"O?"  
  
Kaoru looked very worried. At that moment, Yahiko came outside where he saw Kenshin unconscious on the floor, Kaoru at his side with her bamboo sword at her side, and everyone else looking at the pair, each with a sweatdrop on their forehead. He scratched his head due to all the confusion.  
  
"Did I miss something here? Why is Kenshin half dead on the floor?"  
  
Sano looked at Yahiko.  
  
"Heh, seems like Kenshin here scared the hell out Kaoru when he went missing last night. She's still mad at him, so she went whacking at him till he was like this."  
  
Yahiko stared at Kaoru and Kenshin. Kaoru was helping Kenshin up, who still was unconscious. He had absolutely no clue what was going on, though Sano had explained it to him. He scratched his head as he saw Kaoru dragging Kenshin walk back inside the dojo.  
  
"What just happened here? Why is Kenshin like.that?"  
  
He pointed towards the door, where he and Sano heard moaning sounds. The two walked cautiously inside, peeking from behind the wall into Kenshin's room. They saw Kaoru laying Kenshin down. Kenshin seemed to be conscious, but he was asleep. Kaoru got up and walked out of the room. When she stepped out, she found herself surrounded by all the residents of the Kamiya dojo. And they were all damn angry.  
  
"KAORU!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!????"  
  
Kaoru practically had a heart attack at the sudden outburst. When she recovered, she gave the same outburst back.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? AND DON'T YELL AT ME LIKE THAT!!!!!"  
  
Kaoru stared at the group surrounding her. Many pairs of murderous eyes were stuck on her. After an awkward silence, Megumi stepped forward.  
  
"You don't know? Please, Kaoru! You should know. You practically murdered Kenshin back there. And here you're saying you didn't do anything. How could you do that to the one you care for most?!"  
  
Kaoru stared at Megumi, and gasped when she said 'the one you care for.' She blushed and tried to hide it by bowing her head.  
  
"I'm sorry. I was in stress back there. It's just that Kenshin was gone last night, and I couldn't find him, and-"  
  
Kaoru stopped mid sentence, because a firm hand had grasped her shoulder. She turned and found violet eyes looking back at her.  
  
"Kenshin! What are you doing?! You should be resting!"  
  
Kenshin just smiled. "Kaoru-dono, I'm sorry that I worried you last night, that I am. Please forgive me."  
  
Kaoru smiled, along with the rest of the Kenshin-gumi. Misao came up from behind and leaned against Kaoru, her arm on Kaoru's shoulder.  
  
"See, Kaoru. He was sweet enough to get up and apologize. Now that's what I call true love, right guys?"  
  
She turned back to the group, which nodded in unison. Both Kaoru and Kenshin blushed, and turned away from each other to hide their blushing. The rest of the group smiled at the two lovers. They all knew that the two had feelings for each other. It was just that the two were so dense, and neither knew that the other loved them. Yahiko, sick of all the mushy-gooey stuff, walked away.  
  
"Hey, guys. Can we go eat now? All the mushy crap is making me hungry."  
  
Misao smirked. "Heh! IEverything/I makes you hungry, Yahiko-chan!"  
  
Yahiko stopped in his tracks, turned around and started yelling. "STOP calling me CHAN! AND I don't ALWAYS get hungry!!"  
  
Misao frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Oh yea? I bet you couldn't last an Ihour/I without some miso soup to slurp on!" "Oh yeah?! I bet that I can last Itwo/Ihours without food!"  
  
"You're on!"  
  
Yahiko and Misao continued arguing, while everyone else laughed. Though they all got annoyed when Misao and Yahiko fought, they kinda enjoyed the entertainment. Little did they know that they all get twice the fun in the future from someone else.  
  
***  
  
It was almost midnight. The full moon shined brightly over the town. But it shined its brightest at the Kamiya dojo. The whole Kenshin-gumi was asleep, except for one troubled member.  
  
Kenshin was standing outside the dojo, looking up at the vast, starlit sky. He was thinking, thinking about his past. He was remembering, the whole scene was forming in his mind. He touched his sheath. His hand went up and grabbed the handle of his sword. He took it out. Studying it, Kenshin winced at the pain as he remembered all the blood that had stained his sword. No, he thought. This was another sword, a reverse-blade sword, a sword that doesn't kill, never having the stain of wet, red blood. The other sword was a sword that he now never wanted back.  
  
He put his sword back into its sheath, and looked up at the sky. But the moment he put his sword back, he heard rustling in the bushes. He was about to take it out again when he heard a feminine voice. A feminine voice, but with a touch of masculine attitude. Kenshin held his sword by his side, waiting for whatever was in the bushes. Then she came out. She struggled out of the thorny bushes, and stood there, brushing the leaves and dust off her arms and clothes. As soon as she did that, she plopped herself to the ground, sitting Indian-style, her back towards Kenshin.  
  
"Whew! Glad that's finally over! Damn these thorns."  
  
She was rubbing off the blood from her arms and legs. Kenshin stared at the girl, who apparently hadn't noticed him standing there. Although, he noticed that the girl was sitting on a small box. She stood up and picked up the wooden box. She opened the lid and heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
"Good, at least they're not ruined. If they were, I'll still have Seba."  
  
The girl looked up at the sky, and Kenshin saw a black dot sailing across the sky. Kenshin cocked his head.  
  
"II wonder who Seba is./I"  
  
Now she was just standing there, looking at her box. She lifted her head and looked straight ahead of her.  
  
"After all that time, you still haven't spoken to me. You scared or something?"  
  
She turned her head, then her whole body around, and stared at Kenshin. Kenshin blinked in surprise. But he recovered easily.  
  
"So, you did know I was here. Well, you must have great potential." The girl glared at Kenshin.  
  
"What, just because I'm a girl, you think I'm weak?!"  
  
Kenshin put his hands up in front of his face. "Oh no, I think you're really strong, really." The girl looked even madder.  
  
"You Ithink/I that I'm strong?! Nice compliment! I Ireally/I appreciate it!"  
  
Kenshin laughed nervously.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, that I am, hehehe." The girl was still glaring at Kenshin. But she seemed to be claming down.  
  
"I forgive you. Sorry for getting all mad. I admit, I can lose my temper very easily." The girl's face turned from a nasty glare to a calm smile.  
  
"OK, can you tell me where I am, who you are, and if you're the only one here?"  
  
Kenshin smiled at the girl's curiosity.  
  
"Yes, that I can. OK, I'm Kenshin Himura, and you're at the Kamiya dojo, where I live. And, no, I'm not the only one here. Is that good enough?"  
  
The girl folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Yea, that's good. Now I bet you're wondering who the hell I am, and what I'm doing here, right?"  
  
Kenshin laughed. "Yes, that I do. Can you tell me your name?" The girl stared at Kenshin.  
  
"Yea, I'm Chiko Yamasaka, and I'm 17 years old. I'm looking for someplace to stay. Is it okay if I stay here for awhile, or should I wait till dawn for an answer?" Chiko turned around and looked at the fading moon. Kenshin smiled.  
  
"No, I think it's okay that you stay. I'm sure no one here will mind. Why do you need a place to stay anyway? Don't you have a home to stay?"  
  
Chiko sharply turned around and glared at Kenshin. "You think I do?! Why the hell do you think I'm asking you?!"  
  
Chiko folded her arms across her chest, turning away from the surprised Kenshin. He heard Chiko whisper something under her breath.  
  
"Argh! Baka.Hey, look. The sunrise is here. That seemed pretty quick."  
  
Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the shining sun, as it rose up from its sleep. Kenshin suddenly felt sorry for the girl. She showed herself as a strong, willful warrior, but he felt that there was something else inside of her that was totally different from how she showed her personality. Kenshin smiled at the young lady who stood before him. He suddenly realized something about the girl's name.  
  
"Your name.It means something, that it does."  
  
Chiko turned around and faced Kenshin. Her face seemed to have a faint smile, though she had a nasty frown on.  
  
"Yea, it does. It means 'energy child', (A/N: IChikoI, literally, means 'energy child. I don't know what it really means.) 'Chi' is for energy and 'Ko' is for child. If it were 'energetic', then it would make more sense. I really think it's pretty stupid."  
  
Chiko had noticed Kenshin's kawaii smile, and turned away to avoid blushing. Kenshin, on the other hand, looked straight at Chiko, noticing how she turned away.  
  
"I think it makes perfect sense. And I think it's a nice name, that I do."  
  
Chiko turned around to face Kenshin again.  
  
"You do?"  
  
Kenshin smiled. "Yes, that I do."  
  
Chiko smiled at Kenshin for about 5 seconds when her smile had turned into a gap. Her face cracked as she noticed something about Kenshin.  
  
"You.you have.a scar."  
  
Kenshin's head cocked to the right in confusion. His head straightened, and he continued smiling.  
  
"Oh, you mean this?"  
  
His hand trailed to his left cheek, covering half of the X on his cheek.  
  
Chiko nodded when Kenshin indicated the X-shaped scar.  
  
"Yea, that. So, there's someone else who has that. Then maybe."  
  
Kenshin's smile turned into a frown as Chiko continued staring at him. Then he stared at Chiko, noticing something by her left eye.  
  
"You have a scar as well, that you do."  
  
Chiko head half-turned to the left, avoiding Kenshin's eyes.  
  
"Yea, what's it to you?"  
  
Kenshin smiled. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."  
  
Kenshin took his eyes off Chiko, and went into deep thought.  
  
"IDid she get her scar the same way I did? If she did, then that means.No! It can't be! I know that she didn't get it the same way I did. I have this unusual feeling that she didn't get it that way. I have a feeling that someone I know made Chiko get that scar. But who? Or could it have been.?/I  
  
Kenshin didn't get to finish is thought because a rough punch was inflicted on his left arm. He winced at the strong pain he began to feel. He turned and saw Chiko glaring at him.  
  
"Hey! When I ask a question, I need an answer! Got that?"  
  
Kenshin recovered from the punch and smiled at Chiko's strong will. She reminded him a little of Kaoru in an unusual way. He smiled at the thought of the cheerful Kaoru, always finding a way to help someone. Deep inside his heart, he had true feelings for Kaoru, and tried to express them to Kaoru in all ways possible. He would have continued thinking about her if Chiko hadn't punched him again. He looked at the furious girl and smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry, that I am. I was just thinking about something, that I was. Did you have a question that you wanted to ask me?"  
  
Chiko stared at the smiling Kenshin, growling under her breath. "Yea. I'm sorry if this is just weird to ask, but.did you fight in the Revolution? I need a honest answer."  
  
Kenshin was startled by Chiko's question. He didn't expect her to ask such a question. But, as he would have done for any question, he answered.  
  
"Um.Yes, I did. Why do you-"  
  
He stopped short in his sentence. Why he did this was Chiko's expression. Her eyes seemed distant, like they were far off in thought. Her lips were in a straight line, and very slowly, she backed away, inch by inch. Kenshin noticed this and put his hand out.  
  
"Hey, what happened? Did I say something?"  
  
Chiko continued backing away from Kenshin, as if he was some murderer. She stopped beside the wooden box. She kneeled down to pick it up. When she did, she turned around and started to walk off. She didn't get far, because Kenshin had grabbed her shoulder.  
  
"Chiko, did I say something wrong? What's the matter?"  
  
Chiko broke free of Kenshin's grip. She didn't face him, but spoke.  
  
"I decided not to stay here. I'll find another place. Sorry for disturbing you."  
  
Her voice trailed off, and she took one step before Kenshin's grabbed her arm. The second he grabbed her arm, Chiko sharply turned around.  
  
"Don't touch me!!"  
  
Unfortunately, when Chiko turned, Kenshin had stepped back, and Chiko had taken a rough step forward. Since she was facing air, Chiko had lost her balance and fell on top of Kenshin.  
  
"OW!!! Damn, you just had to move back, didn't you, Ken-"  
  
Chiko and Kenshin found themselves both facing each other as they lay on the ground. Chiko had stopped mid sentence when she saw how close Kenshin's face was to hers. She blushed a bright red as their noses touched. Chiko had both her hands on the ground, supporting herself. Realizing how close she was to Kenshin made Chiko blush a darker red.  
  
Kenshin was feeling just as Chiko was. He was surprised to find Chiko on top of him. His slight movement of his body instructed Chiko to get off him, which she quickly did.  
  
As Chiko got up, Kenshin slowly got up himself. Chiko brushed dust off herself, and Kenshin watched with unusual interest. Chiko caught Kenshin staring at her, and anger and annoyance started to build up inside of her. She clenched her fists and just punched Kenshin. To Kenshin, this was an out-of-the-blue punch that he had no idea what he did to deserve it. Chiko blushed furiously.  
  
"ARGH!!! It's one thing for me to be on top of you, but you looking at me like.Ithat/I!! ARGH!! HENTAI!!!  
  
As she said 'hentai' she kicked Kenshin in the face out of anger. Chiko watched Kenshin lay oroing his life out. She glared at him with murderous eyes, though Kenshin didn't notice through his swirly eyes. (A/N: YEA!! SWIRLY EYES!!!!) She bent down to pick up her wooden box, and was about to walk away when Kenshin spoke up behind her.  
  
"Chiko, why are you acting like this. As soon as I said I fought in the Revolution."  
  
Chiko turned to find Kenshin sitting on the ground, legs spread out, and hands on his knees. Chiko took one look at him, and fell in giggles. Kenshin obviously didn't know what Chiko was laughing at.  
  
"Um.Chiko-dono? May I ask what you are laughing at?"  
  
Chiko took a few minutes to recover from her attack of giggles. When she did, she put out her hand to Kenshin.  
  
"The way you were sitting! That's what's funny!! Now c'mon, get up."  
  
Kenshin looked at Chiko's helping hand. His slowly brought his hand up and grabbed her hand. Chiko pulled him up, and took a step back. While Kenshin brushed himself off, Chiko looked behind him and stared at the gloomy dojo. Her face remained distant. Kenshin noticed this and began to worry.  
  
"Chiko-dono, what's wrong? You look troubled, that you do."  
  
Chiko didn't look at Kenshin, but walked past him. She stood in front of the dojo's stairs and stared into the doorway. She didn't turn to look at Kenshin.  
  
"So, you found a nice place to live in, didn't you? You must be really happy, despite what you did in the past."  
  
Her voice trailed and Kenshin looked stunned at Chiko's words. He had never dreamed that she would say something like this. He knew that most people knew about he being the Battousai, but a young lady from a far city? How the heck did she know? She was even farther away than Kyoto; he could tell by her accent. His thoughts were interrupted by Chiko's irritated voice.  
  
"Hey, I'm going inside. You comin'?"  
  
Chiko turned and walked into the dark dojo, now being lightened up by the sun. Kenshin smiled and quietly followed from behind.  
  
center******************************************* /center  
  
Wow! That was long! Oh well! Me like long stories! Anyways, I hope u like that, and I will try to put up the second chapter! Below, I have a little profile of Chiko! I'll have profiles at the end of chapters for ya! Of course, it'll only be four chapters with bios cuz I only have 4 OC characters. Me friends r in the next chapter! Hope u enjoyed the little funny stuff before me chapter!  
  
Yamasaka Chiko Age: 17 years Birthday: December 20th, 1862 Family: She's an orphan Pet: Bird - Seba Weapons: Daggers, sword Technique: Ryu Su Jin Personality: Tomboyish warrior with a masculine attitude. Very high- tempered. Very stubborn. Hobbies: Fighting, drawing, cleaning (she's not a lazy ass!) playing with Ayamai and Suzumai Strong Point: Use of daggers for far range attacks.  
Use of sword from air. Weak Spot: Any type of attack that has contact with her left shoulder down. Secret Admirer: Mashimo Kajiura (OC)  
  
Chiko Yamasaka is a tomboyish girl warrior. She is an orphan searching for a home. Though she knows that her parents were cruel to her, she still loves them. A stubborn loner, Chiko wanders around, facing many dangers along the way. She fights and defeats her enemies, until she later meets up with Kenshin. The Kenshin- gumi loves their new member, but there is one thing that they don't know about Chiko that is sure going to surprise them. Chiko feels that her life is mixed up. She is always alone to think about her past life. With her parents gone, Chiko must figure out her mysterious past alone.  
  
Personal Profile Height: 5'7 Weight: 39 kg Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius Place of Birth: Me dunno.Now I do! Okinawa!! ^^ 


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